The Fight for Women’s Rights

Have you noticed that in today’s society women everywhere are being stripped of their rights?  For decades, women of all skin tones, religions, and gender identities have fought for their rights and humanity. As a young woman of color, and someone attending a predominantly female school, I am deeply offended by the way society treats women and our bodies.

On Friday, June 24, 2022, Roe vs Wade was overturned; a law that has, for over 50 years, been protecting the women’s right to have abortions and make vital decisions about their bodies and their future has been stopped. Now, each state decides who has the ability to end their pregnancy.

The ban on abortion, in my opinion, is horrible and quite disappointing: women are raped, have bad pregnancies, may need an abortion to save their lives or are, just simply put, not fit to be mothers.  Many of these women now have no rights to an abortion or a safe solution to their problem. Women who are forced to have babies are more likely to drop out of school and face financial hardship. With more and more young women dropping out of school, it will cause the wage gap between men and women to widen at an alarming rate.

Although the government is trying to dictate what women do to their bodies, women in the United States are speaking up. Women protested outside of the Supreme Court, shouted out in the courtroom and, last June, the people of Arizona took to the streets to finally be heard. Protests like these have not happened since 2015, when opponents of rulings that lifted limits on money in political campaigns managed to get a camera past court security.

The US is not the only country where women are facing human rights issues. For decades, the young women of Iran have faced injustices, a lack of human rights, and no political voice in their government. Back in 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, the government began making efforts to enforce hijab laws. The women in Iran launched massive protests and rallies against these mandates; however, in 1983, the mandates were instituted.

This has not stopped the women of Iran from fighting for their rights down through today. Human Rights Watch states they are currently fighting right now for so much more than just a dress code, they are fighting for equality in a country where women have no legal protection against sexual abuse or domestic violence; where they are required to wear hijabs, can’t travel to another country without their husbands, can’t watch a sports game, or even be allowed to play a sport such as volleyball.

My generation is working towards making a change, even at the cost of our lives. After 22 -year-old Masha Amini was recently killed for not wearing her hijab, young Gen Z Iranians took to the streets to protest.  According to The Iranian Primer, “During the first three weeks, security forces killed at least 150 people—including girls as young as 16—and detained or injured thousands. On October 5, a senior Revolutionary Guards official claimed that the average age of the protesters was fifteen.”

Some of the people that have been killed due to these protests are Mohammad Reza Sarvari and Javad Pousheh (11) who were shot to death; Nika Shakarami (16) and Sarina Esmailzadeh (16) who were beaten to death; and Setareh Tajik (17)  who was killed for protesting. These kids only wanted to change the world for future generations.

Women around the world deserve better treatment and, like the women of Iran, we should all seek to change; we should all seek to achieve a better, safer world for everyone. 

The views expressed in this story are those of Senida Wright.  We encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions on things going on in your life, society or the world.  Email them to us at [email protected], so we can share your voice as well.